Two Seattle cops charged with DUI in off-duty incident

Two Seattle police officers were charged by the City Attorney’s Office on Thursday with the misdemeanor driving under the influence stemming from a Dec. 17 incident that occurred while they were off-duty.

Officers Marie Gochnour, 32, and Sean Moore, 42, were arrested after a 911 caller reported a car had hit a pole near First Avenue South and South Lander Street in Sodo.

Gochnour registered a breath-alcohol content of .234 percent and .247 percent, according to the City Attorney’s Office. Moore’s breath tests measured at .161 and .149 percent.

During the testing, Gochnour cursed at the arresting officer, acted in an aggressive manner and gave him the middle finger in a North Precinct room equipped with a video camera, according to a police report. The names of the officers were blacked out in the initial police reports while the matter was investigated.

Gochnour, who cried at times, twice tried to rush the arresting officer, only to be held back by a sergeant, the report said. She told them she had been driving her boyfriend around.

Since December, the officers have been reassigned to desk duty, Gochnour from patrol and Moore from the K9 unit, according to Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, police spokesman.

Whitcomb said the department’s internal investigation is on hold while the criminal case progresses.

A witness who called police reported that a woman was driving a Nissan Altima with what a police spokesman described as significant front-end damage. The woman allegedly stopped the car in the middle of the street and switched places with a man in the passenger seat, according to a police statement.

Traffic detectives looked for evidence of hit-and-run driving, but no criminal charge has been filed alleging that offense.

Both officers were found in Gochnour’s car, according to the City Attorney’s Office.

Seattle Times staff reporter Jennifer Sullivan contributed to this story, which includes information from Times archives.